Nutraceuticals International articles from February 2003

Nutraceuticals International archives from February 2003

Novartis changes focus of nutra activity, divestments hit sales in 2002.
February 1, 2003... 2002 was a significant year for the Swiss drugmaker Novartis, as the company consolidated its already-strong position with a solid financial performance across almost all of its business sectors. Moreover, it was a year which saw the company...

FACT Corp making strong inroads with functional foods sector.
February 1, 2003... Canada-based FACT Corp says that the functional foods category in which it operates is currently a $17.6 billion a year market in the USA alone, and is forecast to reach $32.7 billion over the next three years. The company says it is...

Natural Alternatives' revenues rise 16%.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... California, USA-based Natural Alternatives International, a formulator and manufacturer of customized nutritional supplements, has reported net income of $686,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, versus a loss of $594,000, or $0.10 per share, on...

Wessanen says Tree of Life impacts on 2002 results; senior execs replaced.
February 1, 2003... Dutch health and wellness firm Wessanen has reduced its forecasts for net earnings in calendar 2002 to 35-40 million euros ($38.43 million), compared to its earlier estimate of 50 million euros. The primary reason for the missed target is a...

Chr Hansen Food Ingredients suffers downturn in North American market.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Denmark's Chr Hansen has reported flat sales in its fiscal first quarter (ended November 30, 2002), with a 5% increase in turnover in Europe, South America and Asia/ Pacific offset by a 6% decline in North America. The company has put this down...

Another strong earnings rise at NBTY.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... NBTY of the USA says that, for the fiscal first quarter ended December 2002, sales increased 12% to $241 million, while net income reached $17 million, or $0.24 per share, a rise of 49% compared to the like, year- earlier period. In terms...

Net loss reduced at ImmuDyne.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ImmuDyne, a Texas, USA-based nutraceuticals company specializing in "scientifically-based dietary supplements," says that, for the first fiscal quarter ending November 2002, revenues were flat at approximately $333,000, while net loss was...

Record-breaking quarter for USANA.(USANA Health Sciences of Salt Lake City)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... USANA Health Sciences of Salt Lake City, USA, which specializes in nutritional and weight-management products, has announced turnover for the fourth quarter ended December 28, 2002, of $38.3 million, an increase of 33.4% and "the second...

Bio-One Corp signs $15 mill finance deals.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Bio-One Corp, a US company that is planning to build up a business "in the nutritional supplements industry via vertical integration mergers and marketing consolidation" in Florida and the rest of the south-east of the country, has signed a...

Carrington quality seal.(Carrington Laboratories in Costa Rica)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The USA's Carrington Laboratories says that its Costa Rica raw materials manufacturing facility has been awarded an ISO 9001 certificate, meaning that it has met "stringent international standards for quality."

Strong revenue rise at Cyanotech.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Hawaii-based Cyanotech Corp, which specializes in the production of natural products from microalgae, has announced its results for the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2002, which reveal that net sales reached $2.5 million, a 28.6%...

Twinlab sells off Bronson Laboratories.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Twinlab Corp of the USA has completed the sell-off of "substantially all of the assets, including inventory," of Bronson Laboratories, its mail-order catalog subsidiary. The sale, for approximately $8 million in cash, was made to an unnamed...

Nutrition 21 planning reverse stock split.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Nutrition 21 of the USA says that its board of directors has approved a 1-for-5 reverse split of its common stock which, if approved by shareholders, is expected to take effect in mid-March. The split will reduce the number of outstanding...

Forbes starts to ship sterols in new deal.(Forbes Medi-Tech )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Canada's Forbes Medi-Tech has announced that shipments have begun under a major sterols supply agreement signed towards the end of last year. The deal is between Forbes' manufacturing joint venture with the USA- headquartered company Chusei,...

Soybean prices hit ADM's profits.(Archer Daniels Midland)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... US agribusiness conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, which has divisions focusing on food ingredients and nutraceuticals, says that earnings for the fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2002, decreased 12.5% to $131.2 million, or $0.20 per...

DSM expands into Asia region.(DSM Food Specialties )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The dairy ingredients arm of Netherlands-based DSM Food Specialties has announced the opening of its first sales and customer service office in Beijing, China, as it pushes ahead with its strategy of sustained investment in that part of the...

SCOLR reaches CDT products agreement.(controlled-delivery technology )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... USA-based biopharmaceutical firm SCOLR (formerly Nutraceutix) says that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with a North American unit of a "major, as-of-yet undisclosed," European-based manufacturing and marketing company. The deal will...

Ordesa grows Middle East presence.(Laboratorios Ordesa buys stake in Jordan-based Nutri-Dar )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Spanish nutritional products manufacturer Laboratorios Ordesa, which manufactures the Blemil and Blevit infant nutrition brands, has extended its market in the Middle East via the acquisition of a 25% stake in Jordan-based Nutri-Dar. The...

Raisio in Benecol deal with Spain's Kaiku.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Finnish food and chemicals group Raisio has reached an agreement with Spanish dairy products firm Kaiku to sell its cholesterol-lowerer Benecol in Spain. Kaiku, which is based in the Basque country, will manufacture the product under the...

ChampionLyte sells stake to investor.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The USA's ChampionLyte, maker of the ChampionLyte sugar-free sports drink, has sold a 43% stake in the business to an unnamed US investment group. The move is part of a substantial restructuring program, which has so far seen the...

Nichirei says acerola product will drive sales.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Japan's Nichirei Corp says that it is ready to launch a new, high- concentration vitamin-C product as a health-promoting ingredient and to cosmetics manufacturers, and is expecting a significant hike in sales as a result. The product, based on...

BioGaia in deal to boost US presence.(agreement with Nature's Sunshine )
February 1, 2003... Sweden's BioGaia has signed an agreement with US company Nature's Sunshine in which the latter firm gains exclusive rights to BioGaia's Reuteri (Lactobacillus reuteri)-based probiotic tablets through the multi-level marketing channel. BioGaia...

Soya International buys UK beverage firm.(T Kearns)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... UK agricultural commodities and food ingredients supplier Soya International has acquired the soft drinks and juice manufacturing business of Bradford-based T Kearns, according to a report on MEATnews.com. The business, which will go under the...

Croda to ramp up lipid manufacturing.(Croda Chemicals Europe Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Croda Chemicals Europe has unveiled plans to double the manufacturing capacity at its Staffordshire, UK-based facility over the next 12-18 months to cope with increasing demand for its high-purity and high- potency lipid ingredients from the...

Acatris in deal with polymer company.(agreement with FMC BioPolymer of the USA)
February 1, 2003... Acatris, the food ingredient subsidiary of Dutch company Koninklijke Schouten, has entered into an agreement with FMC BioPolymer of the USA, in which the former will become the exclusive distributor of FMC's portfolio of polymer-based food...

Omega Pharma on an acquisition rampage?(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Belgian health product and over-the-counter drug distributor Omega Pharma, best known in nutraceutical circles for its Davitamon branded vitamins range, has launched a series of company and product acquisitions, hoovering up Numico's skin care...

Tsumura makes bid for Chinese market.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Japanese herbal medicines maker Tsumura plans to enter the Chinese market in 2006, initially selling four products, and expects to achieve annual sales there of some 5 billion yen ($41.6 million) by fiscal year 2010. Local production will be...

AOBO completes soy protein project buy.(American Oriental Bioengineering completed its purchase of the Soybean Protein Peptide project )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... American Oriental Bioengineering, a leading Chinese nutraceutical company that uses proprietary processes for the production of soybean protein peptide, has completed its purchase of the Soybean Protein Peptide project from Shujun Liu, for a...

Brazil's Granado sees 20% growth for 2003.(Granado Laboratorios)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Granado Laboratorios of Brazil has said it expects to see 20% sales growth for 2003, a level achieved in 2002, when the company's turnover reached 60 million real ($17.1 million). To help achieve this aim, the firm is investing 500,000 reals to...

Sabinsa inaugurates Indian extract facility.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sabinsa Corp, which has pioneered the introduction of several Ayurvedic herbal extracts in the US market, has recently inaugurated a supercritical fluid extract facility in Bangalore, India. This is the first commercialization of new technology...

India's Surya invests in new plant.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Indian group Surya Roshni plans to invest some 500 million rupees ($10.5 million) in a new production plant, possibly in Chattisgarh, company director Vinay Surya told the Financial Express of India. The firm claims to be the first Ayurvedic...

Worldwide sales boost Algry Quimica.(sales of choline derivatives rose 65% in 2002 )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Spain's Algry Quimica, which claims to be the leading European company in choline derivatives manufacturing for nutraceutical, food and pharmaceutical applications, says that sales of its choline derivatives increased 65% in 2002 over 2001....

Health claims in the news again in EU.(European Commission's new food proposals)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The issue of health claims hit the headlines in Europe once again in late-January after the Financial Times published a report claiming to have obtained a copy of the latest draft of the European Commission's proposals in this area, even though...

Austria rapped by EC.(European Union packaging law violation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The European Commission has been successful in a lawsuit, brought in the European Court of Justice, which alleged that the government of Austria's legislation on the prohibition of health-related information on the labeling of foodstuffs, as...

Euro legislation on contaminants - an emerging crisis for industry.(supplement product recalls investigation)
February 1, 2003... During the past year, the major cause of supplement product recalls and withdrawals from the European market was non-compliance with general food legislation, and not related to issues specific to supplements and herbal products. As...

UK govt "sympathetic to national positive list".(European Food Supplements Directive)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health, Hazel Blears, said in a recent debate in the House of Commons that the government was "sympathetic" to the idea of a national positive list of nutrients which would operate alongside the Annexes...

NZ bans adulterated TCM products.(six Chinese herbal remedies banned)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The medicines safety authority of the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Medsafe, has ordered six Chinese herbal remedies off the market after they were found to contain both prescription drugs and/or toxic substances. Meantime, an additional five...

Australia/NZ seeks input on functional beverages.(proposed regulations on sale of non-alcoholic beverages)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, formerly the Australia New Zealand Food Authority, is seeking comment on proposals to modify the recently-introduced Food Standards Code to permit the sale of non- alcoholic beverages containing a wide...

Hong Kong doctors will not share council seat.(Chinese herbal medicine practitioners)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Doctors in Western medicine and dentists in Hong Kong have come out in strong opposition to a proposal to share the medical seat on the Hong Kong Legislative Council (Legco) with Chinese herbal medicine practitioners, according to a report in...

India may impose duties on EU-sourced vitamin A.(proposed duties on imports of vitamin A palmitate)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... India's Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties has recommended the imposition of duties on imports of vitamin A palmitate from the European Union and the Republic of Georgia. The duty should be equal to the difference between the...

Smuggled TCM in Vietnam.(traditional Chinese medicines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Some 161 tons of traditional Chinese medicines have been seized by police in Vietnam as they were being smuggled into that country, according to a report from Agence France Presse. A local pharmacy company is accused of importing and...

UK ad body takes issue with Lichtwer claim.(supplement manufacturer loses case over labeling)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against supplement manufacturer Lichtwer Pharma over claims made on the labeling of ReviFace, which the company describes as "a revolutionary new anti-aging skin supplement that...

France issues national supplements proposal.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... France is gearing up to implement the European Union Food Supplements Directive and has issued a draft framework that sets out the country's interpretation of the new legislation, which came into effect July 12 last year (NIs passim). In...

Denmark takes action on trans fatty acids.(new rules for trans-fatty acid levels in food products)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Denmark has announced plans to implement new regulations on trans fatty acid levels in foods, according to a report on just-food.com. The country's Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries will reward food producers that can provide foods...

EFSA seeks scientists for advisory groups.(European Food Safety Authority's new committees)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The European Food Safety Authority has moved a step closer to completion with the announcement that it is now looking to appoint the members of its core scientific committee and eight scientific panels, covering: food additives, flavorings,...

Council of Europe meeting planned for May.(new rules for food supplements)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Council of Europe Working Group on Food Supplements is due to meet in Strasbourg, France, May 5 and 6 to continue its deliberations on the establishment of rules for the evaluation of plants and plant extracts in food supplements. At its...

Caribbean herb industry mulled at conference.(herbal and nutraceutical market forecast)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Caribbean has the potential to become a world-class player in the herbal and nutraceutical market, reducing the region's dependence on commodity crops such as sugar cane and bananas. This was among the conclusions of a meeting held in...

Quality, information crucial to Japanese health care foods.(quality control, consumer information is critical to market growth)
February 1, 2003... The market for health care foods in Japan could take off dramatically over the next few years. But it needs to be underpinned by proper quality controls and well-judged consumer information if it is to avoid the cycle of boom and bust that has...

FTC takes action over D-glucosamine weight-loss claims.(complaints filed against Slim Down Solution, Maderia Management)
February 1, 2003... The US Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action over what it says are false and unsubstantiated claims for weight loss products containing D-glucosamine. The FTC's complaint against Florida-based Slim Down Solution and Texas- based...

FDA overruled on iron supplement packaging.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The US Food and Drug Administration does not have the authority to demand blister packaging of dietary supplements or medicines containing 30mg or more of iron per unit, an appeals court has ruled. The decision reverses a prior verdict in the...

Bioterrorism legislation out for comment.(new dietary supplements, nutraceuticals rules)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Proposals that will affect the production and importation of dietary supplements and other nutraceuticals have gone out for comment in the USA. Published in the Federal Register of February 3, the two proposed rules will implement some of the...

No smoking gun in IoM's chromium picolinate monograph.(study of chromium picolinate in dietary supplements)
February 1, 2003... A draft monograph released by the US Institute of Medicine has found no overwhelming evidence of serious risks from chromium picolinate in dietary supplements. In Europe, chromium picolinate was among the nutrient sources excluded from the...

Proposals on GMPs said to be imminent.(Good Manufacturing Practice for the dietary supplement industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... As NI went to press, the dietary supplement industry in the USA was waiting for the US Food and Drug Administration's long-delayed Good Manufacturing Practice proposals to appear in the Federal Register. The agency sent a draft Notice of...

Ephedra supplements unsafe "at any dose".(according to American Association of Poison Control Centers report)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The herb ephedra is unsafe at any dose and should be subject to a ban. This is the conclusion of a report by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published by the Annals of Internal Medicine (www.acponline.org), which cites 1,178...

Price-fixing woes revisit vitamin makers after US appeal court ruling.
February 1, 2003... In a case stemming from the vitamin price-fixing suits brought by Empagran et al against Roche et al, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on January 17 reversed, by a two-to-one vote, a lower court ruling that foreign customers...

FDA task force to deal with health claims.(Food and Drug Administration task force will develop scientific guidance for establishing standards for qualified health claims in foods)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... New US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan has set up an internal agency task force that will develop scientific guidance for establishing standards for qualified health claims in foods, which will have as its chairman...

New study on adverse events associated with dietary supplements in the USA.
February 1, 2003... A new study on adverse events associated with dietary supplements in the USA has been reported by researchers, led by Mary Palmer of the Landspitali University Hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland, in The Lancet (January 11). In this one-year study,...

Amerifit seeks OK to sell vitamin gum in Canada.(Amerifit Nutrition)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Amerifit Nutrition is reportedly seeking approval in Canada to sell a vitamin gumball delivering the US Recommended Daily Allowance of 11 vitamins in five-10 minutes of chewing, according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen. The product,...

Carbolite launches candies for diabetics.(Carbolite Foods)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Carbolite Foods of the USA has introduced a range of functional confectionery products designed for individuals suffering from diabetes. The candy bars have been designed to taste as similar as possible to non-diabetic products, an aim the...

Snapple A Day sees February launch.(meal replacement product)
February 1, 2003... Snapple Beverage Group, a unit of UK-headquartered Cadbury Schweppes, has branched out into a new product category with the launch of Snapple A Day, a meal-replacement product that seems more at home with the likes of Unilever's Slim-Fast range...

Red Bull goes sugar-free in the UK.(energy drink)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... While the concept may appear somewhat counter-intuitive, a sugar-free version of the leading energy drink Red Bull has been launched in the UK. The UK represents the beachhead for the new line, which will be rolled out in global markets...

Tesco launches cholesterol-lowering "cheese" in UK stores.(A Healthy Alternative To Cheese product)
February 1, 2003... UK supermarket chain Tesco has launched what it claims is the first cholesterol-lowering hard cheese product, called A Healthy Alternative To Cheese, in the domestic market. The product is made from milk which has had all its dairy fat removed...

Japan's tonic drink market in the doldrums, but Taisho bucks the trend.(Taisho Pharmaceutical )
February 1, 2003... Japan's Taisho Pharmaceutical is outpacing competitors in the the tonic drink business with the introduction of two new products and the use of aggressive marketing, reports NI's Tokyo correspondent. The lingering recession in Japan...

Emami to roll out ayurvedic products in India.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Emami Ltd of India is set to introduce a line of over-the-counter ayurvedic medicines, developed for the firm by Himami Ayurvedic Research Foundation, in its domestic market. The range will initially be test-marketed in areas such as Uttar...

North Korean health tea launched.(Chonggoksellen brand health tea)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The state-owned Phyongchon Pharmaceutical Factory in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has started producing Chonggoksellen brand health tea, which includes 50 types of microelements, according to the KCNA news agency. The tea is said to...

Caspian yogurt gains popularity in Japan.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A do-it-yourself health food is getting a lot of attention from the news media as well as the public in Japan. The product is called Caspian yogurt, an import almost 20 years ago from Georgia when it was a republic within the Soviet Union. It...

NZ's Anlene milk launched by Vietnam dairy.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Huong Thut Trading Co, operating under the Vietnamese dairy industry corporation Vinamilk, has started producing Anlene milk under licence from a company in New Zealand, according to the Vietnamese News Agency. The product, which is high in...

Sankyo/Kureha take aim at health food market.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Kureha Chemical Industry and fellow Japanese company Sankyo have announced a collaboration in the sale of health food products. Later this year, Sankyo will begin selling a powdered extract of matsutake mushrooms (Tricholoma matsutake),...

Semtex dispute ends (but not with a bang).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Pinelli energy drinks producer in the Czech Republic has signed an agreement with Explosia, which makes the Semtex explosive, to use the Semtex trademark over the next two years. The move ends a seven-year dispute between the companies over...

Osotspa launches energy drink in Vietnam.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Bangkok, Thailand-based Osotspa launched a new energy drink, called M- 150, on the Vietnamese market in mid-December 2002, according to a report on the Vietnamese News Agency. The beverage, which is well- established as the leader in Osotspa's...

GNC launches ephedra-free supplement.(General Nutrition Centers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In the USA, General Nutrition Centers has launched its first ephedra- free dietary supplement for weight-loss, called GNC Total Lean. The company claims that, like ephedra-based products, the new supplement is a thermogenic formula designed to...

Wal-Mart adds DHA to infant formula range.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Wal-Mart plans to add a docosahexaenoic acid-enriched product to its Parent's Choice private-label infant formula this fall. The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the addition of DHA and arachidonic acid, two long-chain fatty...

Coke launches BPM Energy drinks in Ireland.(Energy drink in Ireland)
February 1, 2003... Coca-Cola has launched a new energy drink in Ireland, the first world market for what the firm describes as a "daytime" energy drink, differing from other products on the Irish market which are targeted at evening/night-time consumption....

Taurine has beneficial effect on marker of cardiovascular function.
February 1, 2003... A new study has suggested that the semi-essential amino acid taurine can prevent cigarette smoke-induced endothelial dysfunction, considered a precursor to atherosclerosis. Appearing in the January 6 rapid-access issue of Circulation, the study...

High vitamin A doses could cut bone strength, says Swedish study.
February 1, 2003... Daily intakes of vitamin A that reach more than 1.5mg are associated with an increased risk of bone fractures and should be avoided, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 23). The research, conducted by...

Vitabiotics unveils two new lines in UK.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... UK company Vitabiotics has introduced a new soluble tablet formulation of its Osteocare bone health supplement. Osteocare Fizz was launched in January, providing the supplement's key ingredients (calcium, magnesium zinc, vitamin D and copper)...

DSV launches PhycoPLEX algae product.(Dolphin Sea Vegetable)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Dolphin Sea Vegetable of Northern Ireland has introduced a blend of red marine algae as a food supplement under the PhycoPLEX brand. DSV is also setting up a new firm, DSV Nutraceuticals, to market its ingredient products. PhycoPLEX is being...

Baywood introduces Super Joints FIZZ to USA.(Baywood International)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Baywood International has launched a new product in its line of powered supplements. Super Joints FIZZ is an effervescent formula that mixes in cold water and does away with the need to swallow large tablets. It contains...

New Rhodiola supplement from Enzymatic.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... US firm Enzymatic Therapy has launched a Rhodiola rosea extract, Rhodiola Energy, standardized to contain 3% rosavins and 1% salidroside. The herb is said to alleviate stress and improve energy levels and has a long history of traditional use...

Athena unveils soluble prenatal vitamin.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... US vitamin company Athena has introduced PreOne Prenatal Formula, an effervescent supplement intended help expectant mothers meet their nutritional needs. The company says the formulation improves the absorption of nutrients compared to capsule...

Jo Mints offers guarana mints.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Jo Mints of the USA has introduced two functional confectionary products, Jo and M-60 mints, which contain the caffeine-rich herb guarana. The firm says sublingual absorption of the ingredients leads to a rapid energy kick.

Forthcoming meetings/events.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... - Food Ingredients Asia China will be held this year in Shanghai, China, March 5-7. More information is available from the organizers, CMP Information, at the china.fi-events.com web site; - This year's Nutracon and Supply Expo meetings are...

People on the move.(appointments)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... - Degussa has announced that Dietrich Arntz will take over as president of the firm's Flavors & Fruit Systems unit, succeeding Mr Camolli, who has resigned. The latter will remain sales director for Asia; - Royal Numico of the Netherlands...